Random Analysis
by Yamss
Summary: Having recently returned from the tragic 'Sol Sanctum Incident' which left their comrades dead, survivors Saturos and Menardi attempt to return to a state of normalcy.
1. Sunshine and Happiness

I have no idea what genre this should be.

So, this was originally going to be all about Agatio. Seriously, the guy is always written off as stupid, but nothing in the game actually indicates such. Poor Agatio.  
But then this turned into something a little more complicated than that. But trust me, I will get back to Agatio. I actually rather like him. Just not as much as I like a couple other characters (it will become rather obvious who I'm talking about).  
I'm not really a 'normal human relationships and interactions' type of writer. This is my attempt at doing just that. If you spot anything that bothers you, sounds unnatural, or is just wrong, then please, please, tell me. I'd appreciate it.

I don't understand the significance of having a disclaimer on something that is already called 'fan fiction'. If I wrote the damn games, then the word 'fan' obviously wouldn't apply, now would it?

For clarification, the "~~~" are dividers. You'll understand what they divide. The quotes are there so that they don't disappear. I like to use them in my stories. Deal with it.

If you actually read any of this long author's note, then thank you! If you didn't, then, well, I don't blame you. :)

* * *

"~~~"

Agatio was never one to talk, and when he did, he wasn't very good at it. As a result, he usually kept to himself. In fact, when he talked to anyone, and if he did, it would be to Karst.

Karst wasn't the nicest person, but she somehow found it in her to put up with Agatio, as difficult as that seemed to be.

And at this moment on a cold, Proxian day, Agatio found himself, once again, waiting for Karst, standing outside her door. For, although Karst was considered a 'tomboy' by most, she was still a girl. And girls, no matter what, have a tendency to take massive amounts of time to get ready for the most miniscule of events.

Agatio didn't understand why Karst needed to take so much time to get ready for training. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Saturos and Menardi were back in town, or perhaps it had more to do with Saturos' new buddy, Felix.

After all, Felix was everything that came out of Karst's mouth these days. Felix this, Felix that. Everything so marvelously Felix. At least, that's how Agatio heard things.

Agatio didn't mind that much, it was better than hearing Karst blab on about how wonderful Saturos was. Saturos, whose current fixation happened to be her _sister_.

It wasn't that Agatio was jealous of Saturos. Saturos, who was eloquent, which Agatio was most certainly not. Saturos, who was every Proxian girl's dream. Saturos, who was amazing, good-looking, who had a great smile, and was so very, very attractive- but Agatio didn't think any of those things, certainly not!

Which reminded him… What in god's name was taking Karst so long? Fifteen minutes was normal, but _thirty _fucking_ minutes?_ Proxians were apparently immune to the cold, but damn, Agatio was freezing, and he would be pissed if he were to die because Karst was too busy putting her damn clothes on.

Knocking on her door, he began "Karst…"

No response.

"Ugh. Silly woman…"

Banging _loudly_ on her door, he started again "KARST."

BANG BANG BANG

"KARST"

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Finally, he received a response from a shrill, female voice. "What?"

"Karst, what's taking you so long? Practice must've started twenty minutes ago!"

"Oh. It's _you._" She said with mock distaste. "Fine, come in."

Agatio entered, expecting to see Karst in some state of disorder… but she looked fine. She looked exactly the same as she always did. It was kind of disappointing, actually. Agatio had been expecting her to look a mess.

"So… What's the problem?" He began.

"Huh?"

"What's taking you so long?"

"Oh, my hair…"

"Your hair looks fine. Let's go."

But Agatio was lying. Karst's hair did not look fine. True, it looked exactly the same as it always did, but in Agatio's honest opinion, the style just did not look good on Karst.

See, Karst wore her red hair long, long, down below her shoulders. It actually wasn't a bad style, but it just wasn't Karst. The style was not loud, was not rude, was not obnoxious, like the typical Karst. On top of that, it had no real body. It was just flat. Straight and flat, with no character whatsoever. Just hair.

Needless to say, Karst had not inherited her mother's beautiful waves, like her sister, Menardi, had. In fact, one could say that Karst didn't inherit much of anything from her mother, save for her skin tone and her temperament.

"But it's just so plain, Agatio…"

"We're late, Karst. Let's go to practice. We can fix your hair later."

And once again, Agatio had successfully avoided the original question and gotten Karst out of the door.

"~~~"

Practice had gone well. Agatio had the sneaking suspicion that practice would have been more productive, however, if Karst had been focusing on fighting rather than focusing on Felix.

Later, he asked the boy: "So what do you think of Karst?"

"Who's Karst?"

"Menardi's sister. She's got red hair."

"Oh. I… didn't notice her, to be honest." Felix paused. "You'll have to point her out to me next time."

The wheels in Agatio's head were turning.

"~~~"

Today, Karst felt angry, which really wasn't much of a deviation from how she usually felt. For Karst, everything came in shades of red. Blood red anger. Blood red anger _hair._ Karst was rather unhappy with her hair, to say the least.

"Menardi." The girl said, adding extra emphasis to the 'i,'

"Hm?"

"What should I do with my hair?"

"I'm busy, Karst. Not now."

That was a lie. Menardi was definitely not busy at the moment. From what Karst saw, her sister was doing nothing but lying down across a couple of chairs, a position that looked both uncomfortable and stupid. So, what was it about such an uncomfortable position that prevented Menardi from helping her sister?

Karst stalked over to where her sister lay. "Liar. No you aren't. You're just slounging like a slug. A lazy, lazy slug."

"You wouldn't even know what a slug is, Karst, if I hadn't told you." Which was true, there were no slugs, or snails, in a wintry town like Prox. Menardi had only found out about them in her recent (and, not to mention, disastrous) trip to western Angara.

"Nuh-uh. They're in books." Which was true, slugs were in books. However, these were books which Karst had never so much as touched.

Rather than respond, Menardi just resumed her previous activity, letting her head rest in the seat of one chair.

"Since you're so obviously busy, as I can clearly see, do you think you could find time in your oh-so-busy schedule to help your dear sister with her hair?"

"I already told you, Karst, not now."

Karst was puzzled. "Why not?"

"I have to work tonight. I've got patrol duty this week. Someone's got to keep Prox safe."

Ugh. Karst _hated_ patrol. She had never been on one, but regardless, she hated it. What was such an imminent threat, that Prox needed soldiers, two-by-two, to walk around aimlessly in the night 'protecting' the village? Snowflakes? Furthermore, this would mean that Menardi wouldn't be able to help Karst for at least another couple of days, which was almost infuriating. What really infuriated Karst, though, was that Menardi probably loved doing patrol. After all, Menardi's partner was Saturos, of all people, and who wouldn't enjoy that? Essentially, what Karst had gotten out of this conversation was that Menardi would rather spend time with her _boyfriend_ than help her little sister with matters of utmost importance.

"Well, someone's got to help me with my hair!" Karst retorted.

"There are other people in the village, if your hair trouble is so important, you can ask them."

"But Menardi, you're the only person whose opinion I trust. I can't simply find somebody else!"

Menardi sighed. It was just like her sister to act like this. "Fine. How about next week, then? Besides, do you even know what you want to do with your hair?"

"No…"

"Well, then, come up with a couple of ideas and you can tell me later, okay? I'll help you then."

"~~~"

Menardi used to enjoy patrol. Although there generally wasn't much to guard against, Menardi had found peace in the quiet, pristine darkness that surrounded the village at night. Menardi enjoyed walking, the freezing air against her body, the sound of her boots in the ice and snow, the occasional monster, a target for her to take out her frustrations upon. Menardi once enjoyed these nights.

She still would, if it were not for one, rather obnoxious detail, whom she happened to be waiting for at that very moment. _Saturos._ Ever since she could remember, she had hated Saturos. The journey to western Angara, that horrible night where her friends died, had only exacerbated this hatred. She would have been content to ignore him once she got home, however, this was made impossible. As the only survivors of the 'Vale Tragedy', they, by default, became partners, something which made Menardi cringe and Saturos jump for joy.

Now, while she should have been enjoying the cold Proxian night, she was instead waiting for her partner near the sanctum, dreading the moment in which he would arrive, yet anxious for the moment at which patrol would end. Growing impatient at how far away that moment seemed, Menardi closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, in what, at the time, seemed like her last few seconds of solitude.

She resolved to take it all in, the night, the cold air, the darkness, the silence, the—

"Hey Menardi!"

She nodded her greeting at him. He didn't deserve her words. Menardi pushed off from her position on the wall and began walking quickly towards the back exit of the town, the start of their patrol route. She hoped she was making it clear that she absolutely did not want to socialize. Maybe he would finally get the message and shut up.

Unsurprisingly, he caught up to her.

"What, I don't even get a 'hello!' or a 'hey' or even a simple 'hi'? God, what kind of friend _are _you?"

"We aren't friends."

"I know, I know, so you've told me. Seriously, do you have any friends?"

"I did." Menardi said. _ And they all died._ Menardi wanted to say.

A silence passed over the pair as they exited the village. However, it wasn't the kind of silence Menardi typically enjoyed; it wasn't at all the light, cold silence of the frosty Proxian night. This silence permeated their thoughts, humid and thick with all things unsaid. They kept walking their path.

"…Well, you're no fun."

The comment came out of the blue, really. Nothing had been said for quite a while, which Menardi didn't mind, but obviously, Saturos did.

"What?"

"Well, seriously, you're always ignoring me. Whenever I try to strike up a conversation to pass the time, you just shoot me down. Why?"

"Well, some people like to take their jobs seriously. Me, I try to keep my personal life and my professional life separate. It works best that way."

"That's a boring way to look at things. No wonder your sister's more popular."

Menardi sighed. "I'm just here to do my job, Saturos, not to socialize. Understand that."

And the two continued their patrol. Menardi, serious as she often was; and Saturos, surprisingly silent, contemplating dreams, and of course, women.

"~~~"

* * *

Once again, if you, dear reader, find any glaring (or even minor) problems with it, then please do not hesitate to notify me, and I will consider your words and see what I can do. :)

Also, take note that the narrator doesn't necessarily speak the truth.


	2. Funeral

Chapter two! In it, we start to gather some (rather skewed) information about the Sol Sanctum incident, and experience the cynical asshole that is Felix.

I found it rather difficult to resist the urge to turn Felix into a total fourth wall breaking asshole who says 'dude' and 'man' all the time. And I also had to resist the extremely powerful urge to use the word 'douchebag', 'douche', or 'douchebaggery'. Especially that last one.  
Also, I have a TON of character commentary I have written. Explanations and such. Lots Lots Lots. All in a spiral notebook.

If you have any comments or criticisms, please do not hold back! :)

* * *

"~~~"

The following week was uneventful, to say the least. Saturos continued to pester Menardi, Menardi continued putting off helping Karst, Karst still didn't know exactly _what _she wanted done with her hair, and Agatio was no help. Whatsoever. He was too busy doing whatever Agatio does in his spare time. Felix's parents and Kyle were still unwell, and Felix was, well, Felix. Nothing had truly changed. Surprising, no?

"~~~"

"I don't understand what's wrong with her, Felix."

"What?"

"It's like she has no soul."

"Who are you talking about?"

"_Menardi!_"

"Oh. She's the one who saved me, right?"

"Yeah."

"She's got a younger sister, right?"

"Yeah."

Felix nodded. "… Say, what happened that night?"

Saturos looked up in confusion. "What night?"

"In Vale." Felix's brow furrowed. "…You guys were saying something about a trap?" Felix paused. "And Menardi was yelling at you for some reason. What was that about?"

"Well, someone in our group, I'm not clear as to who, touched something, which happened to be a trap. This trap caused a sudden change in the weather, and a small earthquake, which in turn caused several small boulders and one incredibly large boulder to fall off the mountain. I guess."

"And that's the best explanation you could come up with?"

"…Yeah…"

Felix had absolutely no idea how to respond. The whole thing sounded absolutely ridiculous. Who in their right mind would design such a ridiculously over-the-top trap? The aim of a trap should be to destroy (or just seriously maim) the ones who set it off, not an entire goddamn village. If Felix had been the one in charge of Sol Sanctum's construction, he most certainly would have made sure not to have such gaudy traps. Seriously, was the trap-maker guy just _trying _to show off? Did he brag about it to his friends? Did it make him feel important?

Felix's thought patterns continued in a similar fashion for a while. He then realized that he was getting worked up over some conceited asshole trap-maker who was most likely dead. He decided to simply change the subject.

"I think my parents have almost gotten better. Kyle too."

"Yeah…"

"Should be about a week."

"Yeah…"

Once again, Felix became irritated. Was that all Saturos could say? That's what it felt like.

"Well? Where are we going to stay? Your house certainly doesn't have enough room for four extra people, and neither does anyone else's in the village, for that matter."

"I know. I've discussed this with Puelle."

"And…?" Felix, at this point, just wanted a straight answer.

And Saturos really wasn't paying attention. He was too busy thinking about a certain woman. He simply could not comprehend the girl.

"So where is everyone going to stay, Saturos?"

Most of the people Saturos had dealt with during his life were warm and open, yet this girl, whom he had known since childhood, was anything but. He fancied himself to be very skilled with words, yet his words had no effect on Menardi.

"I would really like to know sometime today." Felix's irritation was increasing at an alarming rate.

Saturos obviously wasn't taking the right approach. Maybe he should...

"Are you even listening? I'd like to know where my parents are going to be!"

"Oh, well, I talked about it with Puelle."

"Yes, I know that! Just tell me _where_."

"Well, you and Kyle will be staying with me, and your parents will be staying with Puelle."

That made no sense to Felix. No sense whatsoever. What prevented Felix from staying in the same place as his parents? Nothing. Why was Felix to be holed up with Kyle, of all people? Did any of this actually make sense to Saturos? Probably. Saturos made no sense. And Felix knew why Menardi hated him. Saturos may have been smart, but damn, he was _weird_.

"~~~"

The next day was just like all the others. The warriors trained from mid-morning to early afternoon, with a select few having patrol duty later in the evening. In the morning, Agatio dutifully waited outside for Karst, but mainly kept his thoughts to himself. Karst kept Agatio waiting, and expressed her thoughts loudly. They went to training, Agatio focusing mainly on the actions and reactions of the people around him, and Karst focusing mainly on her anger, with an occasional glance toward her sister's direction, which also happened to be where both Felix and Saturos were. Karst and Agatio, as usual, had barely arrived on time, yet had arrived punctually nonetheless. Saturos and Menardi arrived separately, with Menardi arriving several minutes early and Saturos arriving several minutes late, as usual.

Training, that day, went as it usually did. Karst and Agatio sparred, as they usually did. They fought, without the intent to injure, Agatio using his fists, blocking Karst's blade, and Karst, with her scythe, doing her best to block his punches. One could tell, from watching the two, that they weren't the most experienced of fighters. After all, they had only started training not too long before- they were both young.

Saturos, however, rather than spar with Menardi, or anyone else for that matter, busied himself by teaching Felix how to fight, which certainly was not an easy task. Menardi, rather than help, busied herself with nothing, really. She just sat there, observing, mentally criticizing everyone. On a regular day, she would have just found someone else to spar, or even helped Felix, but today, she just wasn't feeling it.

It did shock her, though, how Saturos had been tolerable that morning. True, he had arrived a couple minutes late, which was typical Saturos, but once there, he had calmly greeted her and promptly gotten to work, rather than attempt to strike up a conversation. He was actually acting… professional.

No mistaking it, this was what she had been wanting for quite a while, but the sudden change just disturbed her, is all. Had Saturos finally decided to grow up? She couldn't stop pondering it. The thought made her smile, a little bit, and only on the inside.

Other than that, though, the day was pretty much exactly the same as all the other days, and would most likely continue to be so.

That was what Menardi thought, until she spied her father trudging towards the group of warriors. But he didn't head for her; rather he made a beeline for Saturos, immediately engaging the man in conversation and interrupting the teaching session with Felix.

Puelle nodded "Good morning, Saturos." and repeated the gesture, this time directing his greeting to the younger man. "Felix."

"Oh, hey Puelle."

"Saturos. There are some things we need to discuss."

Saturos hesitated, his expression changed to one of utter seriousness. "Okay…"

Which was rather ominous, really. It wasn't often that Puelle would interrupt training, other than to check on how everyone was doing. It was even less often that he would interrupt training with a specific intent. The fact that Saturos was the obvious target was even more ominous in his eyes.

Puelle continued. "It doesn't have to be now, I see that you're quite busy, just stop by my house when you're done."

Before departing, Puelle spared a glance at his eldest daughter, Menardi, and wondered why she wasn't training like the other warriors, or even helping Saturos teach Felix. He would have to talk to her about that later.

Menardi wondered what her father had wanted with Saturos.

Despite the added time, Saturos couldn't help but worry about what Puelle wanted to discuss. He had a feeling he wouldn't like whatever was to be talked about. So overwhelming was the thought that he could no longer concentrate on teaching Felix. All other thought processes had been terminated, as each one led to the same thing: the upcoming discussion with Puelle.

Maybe Puelle wanted to talk about something happy? Saturos searched his brain for any supposedly 'happy' conversation topic, but couldn't think of even one.

"~~~"

The end of practice approached. Agatio said goodbye to Karst and returned home to his grandparents, and Karst went to join her sister. Menardi rose from her seat to meet Karst, and the two started towards home. Saturos, having the same destination, followed. Felix who didn't know _what _he was supposed to be doing, decided to stay safe and follow Saturos, who was following Menardi, who was accompanying her sister Karst, both of whom were going home to their father Puelle's house.

The walk, overall, was quiet. The sisters talked amongst themselves, occasionally giggling, as girls do. During the walk, neither noticed Saturos, or a very forgotten Felix.

It was only once Menardi got to the door that she noticed him, her expression a mixture of anger and horror.

"What are you doing here? Have you been following me?"

"Relax, I'm not here for _you,_ princess. I have business with your father. Now, could you please let me in?"

"And what about you?" She said, directing her attention towards Felix.

Felix raised his arms in exasperation. "I'm just following him, but I have no business with Puelle."

Again, Saturos asked: "_Now_ will you let us in?"

She did.

"~~~"

Upon entering Puelle's office, Saturos saw that the older man was already seated.

Puelle began: "Saturos, I want you to tell me exactly what happened in Vale. It's been nearly a month since only you and Menardi returned, with four Valeans instead of the four warriors who departed with you. So far, you haven't been much help to the rest of us regarding the matter, as all you've given us is a vague idea of what happened. I've tried asking Menardi, but it's difficult to get her to say anything these days. I already know that the Vale elders refused you… Just tell me what happened in the Sanctum."

And this was it. Just what Saturos didn't want to talk about. He sat for a moment, trying to sift through all the events from that night. It wasn't that Saturos wasn't clear on the details of said events, he just had no idea where to start.

"~~~"

Felix found himself awkwardly sitting at Puelle's kitchen table, while Menardi and Karst spoke amongst themselves. He felt out of place, sitting there, stuck in the middle of a conversation that he had no part in.

It reminded him of home, when he would be stuck with only his sister and his mother. Although he could remember hating that, a small part of him kind of missed those times.

Felix tried to direct his attention elsewhere. This house was the one where his parents were going to be staying… Which made no sense, really. Couldn't they just stay where they already were? There seemed to be enough space there. Couldn't they just stay at the inn? The more Felix thought on it, the more he realized that the inn was the most obvious choice, and that Saturos was just stupid. Felix would most definitely bring this up later.

It was the redhead who broke his concentration. "So… Felix, do you want anything to drink?"

"Oh, uh, yes. Water, please."

"~~~"

Sure, Saturos could just blame Menardi for the whole trap fiasco. The urge to do so was strong… But he just couldn't do it. So, rather, he just blamed one of the people who was already dead.

"Uh… Roreck did it."

"Did what?" Puelle was confused, and it showed in his facial expression. Heck, he hadn't even _asked_ him anything yet! What had Roreck done? Saturos hadn't said anything to lead up to that. Where was Saturos going with this?

"Um, I mean, Roreck was the one who set off the traps, Puelle. I told him to hold off, but…" Saturos looked away. "…And I wasn't being entirely… attentive… to what was going on…"

And it was true. Roreck _had_ continued to force the statures into place, even after Saturos had initially told him not to do so.

Puelle had a hunch that this wasn't the entire truth. Something about the expression that sat on the younger man's face, or possibly even the awkward pauses in the boy's sentences. Whatever the case, Saturos had a horrible poker face, if he played poker, that is.

And, well, Puelle was right. What Saturos had said wasn't entirely true. Sure, Saturos had _casually _mentioned to Roreck that _maybe_ forcing the statues into place wasn't a good idea. But the comment was never more than an offhanded remark. Roreck probably didn't hear it, or misheard it at that.

The more Saturos thought about it, the guiltier he felt. He felt damn guilty, in fact. Even worse than the guilt he already felt, even.

"Something troubling you, Saturos?"

Obviously, all of that previous thought pattern had been apparent on his face.

"Well, let's just say that isn't entirely what happened…"

Puelle raised an eyebrow.

Saturos continued. "Well, you see, it wasn't an actual order to stop, it was more of a suggestion."

Puelle wasn't surprised.

"~~~"

Karst sat down in the seat next to Felix.

"Menardi, when's lunch?" She whined.

"I don't know, I'm trying to wait for dad, but I have no idea how long he's gonna be." A thought crossed her mind, and she directed her attention towards Felix. "Will you be staying for lunch?"

Felix wanted to say yes. He could feel his stomach growling. Felix was hungry.

Felix wanted to say yes, but he also wanted to be polite. He couldn't just invite himself to lunch. Besides, he didn't know whether Saturos would want to eat lunch there or not, and Saturos was the whole reason Felix was there in the first place.

If Felix thought any longer about it, he would end up answering 'yes'.

"I'm not sure, actually, it depends on what Saturos does." Felix considered this to be a 'yes' in disguise.

Menardi's expression changed immediately into one of distaste. "Oh. I forgot that he's here." And she quickly turned around, directing her attention back to her cooking.

At this, Karst turned to Felix and whispered "It's because she's totally in love with him."

Menardi whipped around. "Karst! What did you just say?"

"Nothing, sister!"

"Well if it's nothing, then you might as well go and ask dad if they're going to want lunch." Menardi turned her back to them, again focusing on her cooking.

"Sure." Karst replied. Then, before she left the room, she whispered, again, to Felix. "She's in denial about it."

Felix raised an eyebrow. Women were weird.

"~~~"

Since his admission of partial-guilt, all Saturos had done was look around the room awkwardly, focusing on anything that wasn't Puelle.

Puelle didn't have a hard time noticing this. Saturos wasn't very subtle about it.

But the whole thing got annoying, fast.

"Saturos, the information you've given me is _great_ and all, but it tells me nothing."

Saturos, who was staring intently at the window, frowned.

Puelle sighed. "We're back where we started, Saturos. 'There was a trap inside Sol Sanctum that killed everybody but Roreck set it off.' _Wonderful_. That's nearly as vague as your previous explanations."

Saturos had quit staring at the window, and was now focusing on his right foot.

"Listen, Saturos, your teammates _died_. I know you don't want to think about it, and I understand that, but it's been nearly a month and their families want information. They want to know what happened. They want an _explanation_, which you aren't giving me. You-"

He was cut off by the sound of someone tapping at the door.

Taking the silence as an 'ok,' the source of this noise stuck her head in the room. "Hey dad, Menardi wanted to know if you and, uh, Saturos were going to want lunch,"

"Oh, well, yes, I am kind of hungry." replied Puelle.

The focus was, once again, on Saturos.

"And you?" Karst asked him.

"Well, um, okay. Sure."

"Okay! I'll go tell Menardi then!"

Karst smiled at both men before leaving the room and closing the door.

Saturos hoped that this diversion had made Puelle forget his previous train of thought. It didn't.

"Anyways, you need to tell me what happened, so I can tell the families of the deceased."

Saturos had no choice but to oblige. He told Puelle of the Sanctum. The Sol Room, the adjacent Luna Room, how the statues in the upper floor corresponded to this and would change one to the other. He told of how the statues were really the trap, he and Verraine had figured it out too late. He mentioned how the Sanctum began to collapse in on itself, crushing Roreck and the two others with him. Saturos described how he had seen Menardi, grabbed her, and made a rush for the exit.

"What about Verraine? She didn't make it, I know that, but what happened to her?"

Saturos looked away. He had been trying to avoid thinking about her. It had been nearly a month, but the whole time he still hadn't quite grasped that she was gone. Well, he had grasped it, he understood it, he knew it. He just couldn't convince himself that she was never coming back.

"I don't want to talk about Verraine." He said it as if each word was an excruciating task.

"But her family-"

"I already told her family, Puelle." After all, if Verraine had lived, they would have been his family, too.

Puelle seemed to ponder that for a moment before answering. "I understand."

Neither of them noticed the sound of the door opening.

"Um, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting,"

But they did notice Karst.

She continued. "But lunch is ready, if you want to eat."

So they ate.

"~~~"

Around the same time that Menardi was preparing lunch to her family and guests, Agatio was sitting down to eat with his grandparents. Soup again.

"How's Karst doing these days?" His grandmother asked, looking up from her meal.

Agatio had to think about that one. He generally wasn't the type of person to ask how someone was doing. He answered these questions by doing one of four things.

"She's great." He made assumptions. Number one.

"That's good to hear." She looked back down at her soup.

The three ate in silence for a while. Agatio occupied himself by internally expressing how boring soup was. There was no alphabet soup in Weyard.

The soup today was just like the soup every other day. Too watery, too cold, too bland. Too damn soupy. Agatio hated it. He made an angry face at his spoon, determined to show the soup its place.

"How is Karst's scythe work coming along? Has she improved?" His grandfather asked, in between spoonfuls of soup.

Honestly, Agatio didn't know. He hadn't been paying attention. That or Karst really hadn't improved.

"Yeah." He avoided the more complicated question. Number two.

Again, lunch resumed in silence.

Agatio disliked soup with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. He wasn't the type of person who liked to see his food floating in water. He liked his food on a plate. He stared down his nose at the soup. He was better than soup, and he wasn't afraid to let the soup know it.

"How's Karst's sister, Menardi, doing?"

The hell if Agatio knew.

"She's fine." Three. He gave vague, vague answers.

They hadn't always eaten soup. They used to eat actual meals, on actual plates. The food wasn't soggy, the food wasn't cold, and the food wasn't bland. Agatio remembered those days.

But his grandparents were old. With their deteriorating health, all they were capable of eating was soup. So that's what they ate. Agatio stared unhappily at his soup. He could manage.

The three finished their meal and cleaned the table. His grandmother picked up the dishes. Agatio hadn't eaten anything.

She looked at the remaining soup sadly. "Agatio… Are you happy?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Of course I am, grandma." He then excused himself and went to his room.

He lied.

"~~~"

* * *

Agatio's portion is my favorite. :)

Does anybody spot any problems with how I arrange things, sentences, words, and such? Are there any words that I overuse? Any stray commas, or misplaced semicolons? Are there any sentence patterns that I overuse? Does the wording seem awkward in places?  
I know that's a lot of questions, and you don't have to answer them, or search for answers. I just want to know if the flow was disrupted unintentionally. So I can be better.

Also, if you have a problem with the fact that I made Puelle Menardi's dad, then deal with it. I know it's kind of strange, but who cares?


	3. Things Beyond Things

So, I tried something different with the 'flashback'. It's... interesting. I'm not sure if it works, though. About the content of the flashback: I originally had more about Menardi and Roreck, but I took it out because I couldn't make it work with the rest of the story. I really liked it, though, Roreck was a pretty cool guy. I might have to have a chapter specifically for 'deleted scenes'.

As a warning, this chapter contains angst, and lots of it. Just because I listed the genres as "friendship/suspense" doesn't mean that that's all it will have. Seriously, I picked those because I don't want the genre to give anything away. Trust me, there will be many more 'genres' incorporated into this (and strongly, too!). I don't like to limit myself.

Another warning: There be maggots.

* * *

"~~~"

It begins as a few slight tremors.

"Saturos, I don't think moving those statues is a good idea."

He writes it off as the weather.

"Honestly, I don't think it's a good idea to do _anything_ until we've explored this place thoroughly." She says.

As each statue is moved into place, the quakes increase. At her advice, he even _suggests _that they stop, albeit not very strongly.

But they don't.

Sol Sanctum is shaking violently, mimicking the turbulent weather outside. But, the fourth statue still isn't in place. They still don't have the Elemental Stars.

Must keep going.

The fourth statue is moved and held into its position. Sol becomes Luna.

Unstable ground. Jumpy vision. Scrambled insides. Thunderclap.

Sol Sanctum is caving in on itself.

The cries of men as they are crushed by the rubble. The sound of the rain, the wind. The heavens are howling with laughter.

Verraine is behind him as he exits the room.

The other woman is standing still. She's the only one of the statue movers that wasn't crushed.

But she doesn't move.

"Menardi! What are you doing?"

She looks at him with hollow eyes, and still doesn't move.

She will not move of her own accord.

Forcefully, he wraps his had around her arm and pulls her with him, dragging her down the stairs and into the room below. She then snaps out of it, and he lets go of her.

Verraine is still behind him. He can hear her breathing, feel her presence.

The three dash through the Luna and Sol rooms. Both are eerily calm, silent. Unnerving.

They keep moving.

They begin to navigate the labyrinthine entryways, twisting and turning, collapsing.

Menardi runs in front of him. Verraine…

But Verraine…

Something is amiss. He takes a quick glance behind him. Verraine is not there.

He turns around, calls her name, and runs in the opposite direction. He will not leave her behind.

"Saturos, what are you doing?" But he's already gone. Menardi follows, she doesn't want to be the only survivor.

He hears Menardi's voice, but he keeps running.

Menardi struggles to catch up with him. She thinks he is stupid for running back into the maze. She doesn't think about what it means for herself, though.

"Verraine!"

"Get out of here!"

"No, Verraine, I'll get you out of there, I just have to move these rocks. Everything will be fine."

"No, Saturos. I'm going to die here."

He keeps trying to move the boulders.

"Saturos, stop! I can feel nothing below my waist, I can feel myself bleeding heavily. I'm going to die here, Saturos, whether by starvation, blood loss, or trauma, I'm going to die! Do yourself a favor and get out, or you'll die too!"

He isn't going to leave, not yet.

"Saturos, please, take my headband to my family… and take back your ring…. I have no use for it anymore… Just get out of here, Saturos."

God knows he wants to stay with her, to tell her that everything was going to be fine, but he knows that is a lie. He looks down at the ring in his hand, a simple band he had given her.

"If we wait here any longer, we're going to get ourselves killed." Menardi's been standing behind him for quite a while.

"Come on, Saturos, there's nothing we can do, except leave."

Somehow, she knocks some sense into him, and drags him to the exit, out of the Sanctum.

Verraine is thankful for Menardi's cold gaze and demeanor. She is confident that some way, somehow, the two made it out alive. Despite having a mass of large rocks pinning her down, despite the fact that she is dying…

Verraine feels happy.

"~~~"

Verraine.

Saturos still thought of her, of course he did. It was hard not to, after all. He found that even after her death, he still thought of her as much as he had before, if not more.

He still loved her.

The first thing he had done upon his return to Prox was notify her family, and return to them her headband, which he had managed to recover.

They all blamed him.

Which, honestly wasn't that surprising. They had trusted him to protect her, to keep her safe.

And he had failed. He had failed Verraine. He had failed her family. He had failed Prox.

He blamed himself.

He still had a few of her things, things she had given him long before their departure to Vale. He was wearing the scarf she had made for him a couple of years ago.

It still smelled like her.

To him, Verraine had always smelled of spring. Not of the Proxian variety, but Spring, the season he had only read about. Of course, he had never actually experienced a real spring before, having only been exposed to the cruel Proxian mockery of the season. She smelled like how he imagined spring to smell like.

He still dreamt of her. Granted, they weren't like the good dreams he had previously had of her, but they certainly weren't nightmares. He thought of them as simple dreams, random images generated by the mind.

The dreams were seldom the same, assorted people he knew popping in and out, ridiculous monsters, and baffling logic abound. But they always ended the same way; Verraine would be standing there, smiling and talking. As she spoke, as the letter sounds of each word escaped her lips. Maggots. Maggots. Munching at her eyes, chewing the corners of her mouth, her lips, her face. Words kept coming from her mouth, but Saturos couldn't hear them. All he could hear was the sound of the munching maggots, squishing and squirming, a single writhing mass feeding at her flesh. And she kept talking, as if she didn't notice what was happening.

Saturos would always wake up from these dreams in a cold sweat. But they weren't nightmares. Nightmares were for children.

For Saturos, these dreams were the only things in his life that told the truth.

"~~~"

Menardi headed off to patrol, grabbing her scythe and closing the door behind her. It was dark. The only lights she could see were emanating from the insides of houses. It had been getting colder in Prox, the pathetic mockery they called 'summer' finally coming to an end, giving way to an even more pathetic 'autumn'. Menardi had no idea why they insisted on retaining four separate seasons, after all, everybody knew that the only true season Prox had was winter.

Menardi exhaled, her breath appearing as a faint cloud, then dispersing into the air, not to be seen.

She missed her younger self. She missed being unaware and naïve. She wished that everything could be prolonged. She needed time, lots of time. Time to think, and thinking was all she ever did anymore.

What else could she do? Roreck was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Why, if everyone dies, should anybody do anything? What really mattered?

She had never felt so alone.

When she was young, Menardi believed that she could do something to benefit the world, to help people. She believed that she could make a difference. Now, her actions had no impact on anything, because no matter what she or anybody else did, the outcome would always be the same. Death.

Death was true for everybody, so why did it make her so sad?

She needed to get to patrol, she needed to keep walking, but she didn't want to. She didn't want to take another step in any direction. No matter what she did, she felt she would be leaving something behind, and she didn't want to let go.

She felt an overwhelming urge to cry, to sit down in a dark, secluded corner and bawl her eyes out, but she couldn't let herself do such a thing, no matter how appealing. She was stronger than that. She was a warrior, for god's sake! And warriors don't cry.

Although she hated to admit it, Menardi was scared. She was not scared of people, or monsters, or even death. She didn't know what she was scared of, and that, in itself, scared her.

It was the uncertainty.

So many options, yet there could only be one choice at a time. What would have happened if she had done something different?

Regardless, she needed to get moving. She needed to get to patrol. She couldn't stand there forever. Building up her resolve, she began walking towards the sanctum. She briefly wondered what would happen if she were to just go home.

Nevertheless, she would never find out.

"~~~"

Patrol had been unusually quiet, which Menardi should have liked. She should have enjoyed the silence. But tonight, all Menardi truly wanted was a distraction from her thoughts.

"Menardi…"

"Hm? The more Menardi thought about anything, the more she felt that urge to cry.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry about what happened that night, in Sol Sanctum. I'm sorry that everyone had to die."

"Well you don't act like it." It was insensitive, but she couldn't stop herself from saying it. It was true, and they both knew it. She didn't know why, but with each word she spoke, she could feel anger bubbling inside of her, catching in her throat. "Honestly, Saturos, I'm surprised you even feel any remorse at all."

"I know you blame me, Menardi."

"Blame you? Of _course_ I blame you. After all, it was _your_ incompetence as a leader that led to the whole mess."

He remained silent.

"Hell, your fiancée _died_, and all you do is joke around like nothing has happened! She obviously didn't mean much to you, or you would have more respect!" _That _struck a nerve.

He _wanted_ to hit her. It took every bit of restraint not to. He was practically screaming. "Of course I know that Verraine died! Do you really believe that I haven't thought about her once? I think about it every fucking day! I constantly see her, trapped under those rocks… Her voice… It _haunts_ me, Menardi! But what can I do about it? What do you expect me to do, sit down and die? Mope around about it, let it consume my life? It isn't like I can prevent everyone from dying now. And what do _you_ know of respect, you ungrateful little bitch! If I hadn't have saved you, then Verraine probably would have lived!"

It was Menardi's turn to be silent. She felt the urge to cry again, but she felt she wouldn't be able to hold back. She maintained her angry expression, even as the tears began to build up.

He crossed his arms and turned away. "Go home, Menardi."

She didn't move, just continued to let the tears build up in her eyes.

"I said go home. I don't need to put up with you. Get out."

She stormed off, her vision clouded by all her repressed emotions. She ran home, to the room she shared with Karst, carefully shutting doors behind her. She undressed, climbed into bed, and wept.

Karst was awakened by her sister shutting the door, and heard her sister sobbing. Karst was saddened by this, but did nothing. Even the strong have moments of weakness.

"~~~"

Saturos continued to stand in that spot, with Verraine's scarf around his neck, and toying with the ring he had once given her. He stared out into the emptiness, the black nothing that lay behind Mars Lighthouse.

"~~~"

Tomorrow would be the day, Felix thought, that his parents would be moved to a different house… and Kyle. His parents would be put in Puelle's house, and Kyle would be put in Saturos' house… with Felix… Ugh. Then Felix would be living with_ two_ idiots.

"Hey, Saturos?"

"What?"

"Couldn't, you know, Kyle, my parents, and I just stay at the inn?"

"No."

"Why not? It would make more sense than splitting us up."

"Felix, do you have any idea how much the inn charges?"

Felix did not make eye contact. He obviously did not know.

"No? Twenty-five coins per person per night. For four people, that would be _one hundred coins._ Guess who would have to pay for that?"

Felix kept looking at the floor.

"Seriously, you want to know the _real_ reason that nobody comes to Prox? It's because the innkeeper charges such exorbitant fucking prices for his mediocre service. So _no_, Felix, nobody is staying at the inn."

"~~~"

* * *

I don't imagine Menardi as the type who cries frequently. She tries to mask her emotions, and she does a damn good job at it. As a result, when she does get emotional, she's a right bitch. Also, Menardi is quite depressed at this point, as she is unsure of how to cope with all that is going on.

And yeah, Maggots don't actually _chew_ on flesh, they secrete digestive enzymes, but the logic of dreams is not based on that of reality. Also, I apologize if you were somehow grossed out by the maggot thing. Call me crazy, but I find maggots adorable. (maggots also generally do not eat live tissue). So, yeah, I'm sorry if you were disgusted by that.

Also, the whole thing about Verraine does have a point. It will come into play much, much later, I assure you.


	4. Sunday Afternoon

So I'm sorry for my absence. It's not that I was being lazy, except I was. What I'm trying to say is that I pretty much had this chapter written in January, you know, back when I was updating this story quickly. I was just unsure of how to write Saturos' conversation with Agatio, is all. And it took me like eleven months to figure out how best to write it.  
Also, in January I also had to go back to school and finish my senior year. Which is really no excuse because it's not like you do anything in your senior year of high school, but whatever. Nobody cares.

Felix's parents aren't actually given names in canon, are they? Well, for this story, I've decided to call them _Juan_ and _Donna_, with Juan obviously being Felix's dad and Donna being his mother. Sorry for any confusion, or anything. Whatever.

* * *

"~~~"

"Thanks again Puelle, for allowing us stay in your home, it is very generous of you."

"It's not a problem Donna; it's the least I could do for all the trouble we've caused you."

It bothered Felix that his parents had absolutely _no problems_ with the fact that he would be staying in a separate location. Didn't they want him around? It bothered Felix even more that the whole time they had been in Prox, they hadn't brought up Jenna _once_.

Felix had begun to believe that they had forgotten about their daughter.

Felix looked around the table, from person to person. On one end of the table, Puelle was having a conversation with Felix's mother about god-knows-what. Menardi sat beside her father, her head resting on one hand, staring blankly at the table and picking at her food. Felix's father, Juan, was sitting across from Menardi, animatedly telling a story about mermaids or something, completely oblivious to the reaction (or lack thereof) of his audience. Typical.

Kyle was in a similar mood to Menardi, except that he was actually paying attention. He had just heard that story (or something similar) about a thousand times before.

Karst, however, was laughing her ass off.

"Dammit, Felix" She said, in between laughs, "Your dad is so funny." She could barely breathe, she was laughing so hard. It was amusing to Felix how she could find the story so funny, even when nobody else did.

Well, the story _had _been hilarious at one point, in fact. The first, and possibly the second time Juan had told the story, it had been funny. It stopped being funny to pretty much everyone after that point. Except Jenna.

Actually, Felix could probably blame Jenna for the decay of the story's hilarity. Almost once a week, every week, she would beg and beg and _beg_ for Father to tell that damn story, yes, that one with the mermaids or something. And when Dad would tell that story, she would laugh and laugh and _laugh._

It had been such a pain back then, but now, Felix found it quite refreshing. As much as he hated to admit it, it reminded him of home.

"Make sure she doesn't choke, Felix."

Yes, Karst was still laughing like a maniac, and yes, Karst was still attempting to eat. Which was exactly what Jenna would have done.

Juan finished telling the story, and normal eating resumed. A silence had fallen over the entire table, and nobody dared break it. Everyone was now looking down at their plates, eating. Every now and then, someone would lift his or her head up, glance around in false anticipation, and having found nothing, would resume eating.

Menardi was still absent-mindedly stabbing at her food. Felix took note of this. Maybe… No. Despite what Karst insisted, Felix was pretty sure that Menardi and Saturos had _nothing_ together. Scratch that, Felix was absolutely certain of this. He could tell by looking at them. Felix knew that everybody expressed themselves differently, but they just didn't have the right 'air' about them. When Saturos and Menardi stood next to each other, it just didn't give off the same vibe as when Felix saw his parents together, or—dare he say it? When he saw his sister, Jenna, and that stupid good-for-nothing piece-of-shit cuntwhore Isaac. _That_ he did not want to think about.

There was also the matter of what Saturos had said the night before—now, Felix wasn't going to go into detail, as the rant contained some _very_ offensive words that made it _very _clear that he wanted nothing to do with Menardi. Which was why Saturos had refused the invitation to Puelle's house. Felix thought he was just being pissy.

Felix had a hunch that their patrol was an interesting one. He almost wished he had a higher tolerance for the cold weather.

Unwilling to break the prevalent silence, Karst whispered "Psst, Felix, why isn't Saturos here?"

He ignored her.

She tried again, this time a little louder. "Hey, where's Saturos? I thought he was coming."

Felix pretended not to hear. He really did not want to break the silence. Besides, with what he wanted to say, there was no doubt that everyone would notice.

"~~~"

Menardi stabbed more fervently at her food. She knew exactly what those two were talking about, and it was a subject she certainly did not want to think about. There had been a lot on her mind lately. Particularly what had been said the night previous. Would Verraine really still be alive if…? If Menardi hadn't have even been there, would Roreck and the others still be…? She couldn't help but think of these possibilities, no matter how pointless it was to do so.

She did not want to be there, at all. She was not hungry. She just wanted to crawl into bed and lay there for an hour, or two.

"~~~"

Karst decided to punch Felix to get his attention. "Hey, I asked you a question," Karst hissed, "Tell me why he isn't here!"

Now everybody was looking at them. This was embarrassing.

"Well?" She asked. Felix looked around. The question was clearly reflected in the eyes of the onlookers. Fuck.

'Well, Saturos is a pissy bitch and refused to come along. He's like a woman on her period, for god's sake.' But Felix didn't say that, of course not. His parents were sitting at the table, and were both still under the impression that he was the perfect gentleman they raised him to be.

"He wasn't feeling well, and said he had some work to do anyway."

Everyone seemed to accept this answer, and turned back to their meals, the clinking of utensils against plates once again becoming prevalent.

Everyone but Karst, who looked at him skeptically. She knew he was lying, even if only slightly, and she was going to get the truth, no matter what. But at this moment, Karst decided to let it be. She would find out later, but she would find out nonetheless.

"~~~"

The meal finished, and everyone cleaned up and scattered. Kyle and Juan were in another room, Karst had dragged Felix off somewhere, and Donna had decided to help Menardi with the dishes.

_Menardi._ Puelle was worried about his daughter, and had been for a while. She had never been the type to socialize, preferring instead the company of her thoughts and observations, along with a chosen few people. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this, as Puelle understood completely. He, too, had been like that as a young man, and he still retained most of that, even as the chieftain of Prox.

Ever since she returned from Vale, though, she had been even quieter than usual, which was also understandable, seeing as what happened in that tragedy.

He was still worried about her, though.

It wasn't that she was quieter, she was always pretty quiet. She was keeping to herself more, the same, cold, distant expression was all that ever showed on her face.

Menardi had always made it clear that she could deal with her own problems. She neither wanted nor needed anyone's help. And Puelle had always complied with her on this matter. But now, he wasn't sure if this was the correct course of action. Menardi was obviously not as self efficient as he had chalked her out to be.

Puelle sighed. He had no idea what to do, but then again, he never did in matters concerning his daughters.

"~~~"

Menardi tried to distract herself from her thoughts. She tried and tried and tried.

She washed the dishes, and tried to focus instead on each individual speck of remaining food, the dirty crumb-filled water, how soaking wet her arms were.

But none of it helped, she was still thinking. Thinking about things that she did not want to think about.

These thoughts ate away at her psyche, burning and destroying anything else she had ever thought about. Consuming and growing and eating away at her brain matter. And whatever she did, the thoughts would only increase in fervor. There was no cure for this festering madness.

Could they have saved Verraine? No, no, Verraine had been pinned under that—Yes! They could have, but she died because Menardi—No, Verraine was bleeding pretty badly—Bloodflow can be halted, cuts can be bandaged, and rocks can definitely be moved—But Verraine had _told _them to keep moving, to leave her behind—Only a lie—But, no, yes, false, cruel, killer, mercy, murder murder murder.

Guilt. She was guilty, she was a murderer, she, she killed. _She killed Verraine._ Oh god, oh god.

No, stop! But thoughts don't listen to anyone but themselves. And Guilt never talks, it just sits there, hanging heavy, innocent of all the crimes which it has committed, yet still committing more.

Menardi finished washing the dishes and went to her room. She would go for a walk later, maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day.

"~~~"

Saturos wasn't feeling like himself today. For example, he was usually extremely social, almost to an irritating degree. Today, he didn't feel like dealing with _anyone. _He felt he would snap at anyone who so much as looked at him. He was not in the mood for _anything_ at this moment.

Originally, he had plans to accompany Felix that day. It wasn't that he had verbally confirmed these plans; it was just that he was _expected_ to do so, by well, just about everybody.

But he didn't go. He sure showed them.

It was strange, Saturos thought, this feeling. He was actually a pretty easygoing guy, most of the time. He wasn't used to being this irritable, and he didn't really like it.

At a loss about what to do, he decided to go for a walk. Maybe that would clear his head a little. At the very least, it would alleviate his boredom.

It was a pleasant day, the sun was shining and the temperature was moderate. Maybe he did want to talk to someone after all.

"~~~"

Agatio didn't quite know where he was going, and he didn't particularly care, for that matter. He was merely going on a walk to alleviate his boredom and to get his mind off of things. He thought of maybe leaving the town and going to stare out at the abyss, but there were many wild beasts that lived around Mars Lighthouse, and Agatio wasn't sure if he was strong enough to deal with them all. He could take one or two of them, for sure, but when the odds were twenty against one the outcome would certainly not be in his favor. At all. Not in the slightest. The odds were that he would get torn to shreds by a pack of Wolfkins, that's what they were. Besides, Agatio was really only a trainee, when he thought about it. He wasn't yet a full-fledged warrior like Menardi or Saturos.

"Agatio!"

Saturos was waving at him. Speak of the devil.

Agatio stopped so that Saturos could catch up with him.

"Hey, Agatio!" Saturos was at a loss as to what he should say. Sure, he _was_ the one who had initiated the conversation, but that was because he simply wanted to talk to _someone_, and everyone he was immediately familiar with was currently dining at Puelle's house. Agatio was just more of an acquaintance, if anything. Saturos didn't really know _anything _about him, except that he was friends with Karst. Other than that, Saturos merely had a network of assumptions about the guy.

Saturos was already regretting his decision to chat with Agatio. The more he thought about it, he realized that he had never actually _spoken to _Agatio, and had only participated in conversations with him in which Karst and maybe somebody else was present. Saturos decided to go with the easiest way out.

"Uh, how's Karst?"

Agatio resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Karst, it was _always_ about Karst, wasn't it? After all, that's the only thing that anyone seemed to ever ask him about, with the exception of the girl herself. Actually, no. Even _Karst _couldn't resist asking him questions about herself. In fact, that was all she ever talked about. Hell, even his own _grandparents_ seemed to care more about Karst's well being than his own, judging by their dinner conversations.

Quite frankly, this irritated Agatio. He was tired of being cast aside in favor of goddamn _Karst_. Did anybody _ever _stop to consider that maybe, just maybe, Agatio had just as much to say as Karst? Did anybody ever think about how _he_ felt about things? Evidently _not_, judging by the topic of _every single conversation_ he seemed to be involved in.

"You expect me to know? Really? Wouldn't it make more sense to just ask her yourself, rather than seek me out?"

Saturos belatedly realized how stupid his question was. He needed to save face. Somehow. His confidence returned as an idea struck him.

"No no no, Agatio. That's not what I meant. What I meant was; How are _you_ and Karst?"

"What?" Agatio didn't really understand where Saturos was going with this.

"Well, I mean, you must have _some_ reason for putting up with her all the time."

"What do you mean?" Agatio _still_ didn't really understand where Saturos was going with this.

"So when's the wedding?" Saturos said smugly.

Oh no. Oh no no no _no_. There was just _no way _this was happening. Just the mere _thought_ of something of that nature happening between him and Karst was enough to make Agatio sick. He had _no_ such feelings for Karst, or any girl really.

Furthermore, Agatio hated discussions like this. Any words about his so called 'love life' were bound to be received with awkward stares, especially around other men. Agatio simply preferred to keep private things private, and public things public, and for Agatio, what was private contradicted what was public by a lot.

Agatio wanted out of this conversation. _Now._

"Saturos, there is _nothing_ of that sort between me and Karst, and as far as I'm concerned, _there never will be_. If that's all you're here to talk about, then I really must be going." With that, Agatio stalked off, considerably angrier than he had been before.

"~~~"

He knew. He just _knew_ something was amiss.

Dinner had been fine and all, and the Proxians had seemed nice enough. Their leader—Puelle, was it?—claimed to have told them everything, and the others had seemed to believe these words, but Kyle knew when he was being kept in the dark.

Kyle wasn't _stupid_.

Why else would they plan to separate young Felix from his parents? Why couldn't everyone just stay at the inn?

Kyle knew a conspiracy when he saw one, and he was determined to get to the bottom of this.

First thing's first, he had to convince Felix to see the light.

"~~~"

* * *

There's your chapter. The other one should be out soon enough, after I fix it up and finish drafting the chapter afterwards. I always try to be a chapter ahead.

On a different note, I'm guessing that no one who's reading this has heard of Devin Townsend. He's great. His music always makes me feel better. I really hate school. I really hate having to deal with people. Maybe I'll go into the mountains and become a hermit.

Oh whatever.

Comments and Criticisms welcome. Have a great day.


End file.
